Aylesbury Vale District Council made more than £1m in parking fees

Aylesbury Vale District Council have a surplus of £1m generated through parking fees this year, according to figures released on November 27.

The council raised their pot to £1.227m in 2016/17 – more than double the amount collected two years ago and the 141st highest sum in the UK.

With a total of £1.161m the year before, this year’s figure represents an increase of nearly 6%. Two years ago, parking profits were only £608,000.

Buckinghamshire County Council lost money on parking fees, however, posting a £191,000 deficit - £126,000 less than the year before.

The figures come from the RAC Foundation which found English councils made a record £819m from their parking operations in the last financial year.

Westminster had the largest surplus in England at £73.2m, up 31 per cent on the previous year, while North Yorkshire council had the biggest deficit at -£1.646m.

Charity director Steve Gooding said the record sums will be spent on improving the road network.

“The upward path in profits is in part a reflection of the record number of cars and volume of traffic,” he said. “The silver lining for drivers is that these surpluses must almost exclusively be ploughed back into transport and as any motorist will tell you there is no shortage of work to be done.

“We welcome the fact that councils are increasingly investing in technology to help make parking easier and less stressful.

“Westminster, for example, has created an app which directs drivers to free parking bays, helping to end the motoring misery of prowling the streets looking for a space.

“We urge motorists to take the time to read their own local authority’s parking report so they can see both the rationale for charges in their area and how the surplus is being spent.”